Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the wadi. But after a while the wadi dried up, because there was no rain in the land.”
NL Daily Devotion for Monday, November 4, 2019
by Daniel D. Maurer, Clergy Stuff
I’m assuming that the Middle East depends greatly upon rainfall. But, indeed, all places do as well to differing extents, I suppose.
Today’s daily reading from the Narrative Lectionary depicts Elijah experiencing a drought while he sat next to a wadi (like an oasis, except in the bottom of a valley). He stewards, we are told, are ravens, who bring him the daily offerings so that he may survive.
Having lived in western North Dakota and served as a minister in that region for a decade, I realize how desperate a community can grow with the lack of rain. Rain has always been the one gift from heaven over which we seemingly had no control. Different cultures of course have tried to bring about rainfall through various means, but I would guess that those rituals were only to exorcise the twin demons of anxiety and anger at the lack of moisture.
The one point I take away from today’s reading is how utterly dependent we are upon god’s good grace to provide for us. Whether God is a weather-God or a whether-God is a moot point—we are dependent upon the earth’s natural processes to survive, and without them, we would not.
In our modern world where most of us can simply turn on a faucet or a hose, it’s a good reminder to have that we need God.
God of waterfalls and thunderstorms, wash down your grace upon me this week. Remind me of my need for you. Amen.
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